Somehow Harry found himself in the Hog's Head sitting next to Katie and watching, bemused as Hermione, Ron, Dean attempted to persuade Neville that he was really quite capable of teaching anyone he wanted to.
He was only here because Neville had insisted on it, because Hermione had clearly worked out that Neville's newfound improvement and his closer friendship with Harry were no coincidences, and because Katie had finally escaped the care of Madam Pomfrey and wanted to go outside. It had been the latter that really clinched things, Katie had not been taking no for an answer.
That left the two of them sitting around the edge of a table in the Hog's Head, sipping butterbeer and watching the spectacle unfold in front of them.
'Why are we here?'
'I wanted to get out of Hogwarts and go walking around Hogsmeade for a bit,' Katie reminded him, taking a sip of her drink and getting foam on her upper lip.
'I mean right here, as in the Hog's Head, we already went walking up to the Shrieking Shack earlier.'
'Oh,' Katie gave him an incredulous look, licking the foam of her upper lip, 'don't you know?'
'Obviously if I knew, I wouldn't be asking,' he responded acidly.
'Don't be grumpy,' Katie remonstrated him, patting him gently on the cheek with her cold, slightly damp hand. Harry wiped the condensation of his cheek and gave her a flat look.
'Umbridge is refusing to teach us,' Katie explained, 'apparently Neville's proven himself a good teacher and is a way ahead of where he's supposed to be. Hermione, Ron and Dean have been offering to form a group for him to teach, though,' she nodded at the dispute that was still continuing in front of them, 'it seems they did it without asking Neville first.'
'So why are you here?' Harry asked. Katie was in the year above them, she'd already passed her OWLs.
'I thought it might be fun,' she grinned, 'besides, I have a pretty good guess where Neville learnt his stuff from.'
'I taught him everything he knows,' Harry admitted, with a slight smile. Lying to Katie, or teasing her too much, normally only got him quaffle-sized bruises. He was no longer allowed to attend quidditch practices, but that probably meant she'd just hex him where he stood instead.
'Thought so,' Katie beamed. 'He's a lot better now, you know,' she added more quietly and seriously. 'Whatever you've told him or showed him has really helped him. He used to just drift around silently, break things and squeak with surprise, like a big, clumsy mouse.'
Harry laughed, briefly drawing the attention of the arguing quartet.
'It's going to be quite a small group,' he remarked. 'I'm teaching him, they're already learning from him, and you're only here to have a laugh and hex me.'
'Everyone's supposed to coming in about five minutes,' Katie responded, taking another long sip of her drink. This time she avoided getting foam over herself.
'Ah, so it won't just be us.'
'No, though I have no idea how many people will actually be coming,' Katie's face scrunched up in thought, 'maybe ten or fifteen.'
'They might be disappointed,' Harry pointed out, finishing his drink and nodding at the quartet. 'Neville might not ever agree to teach them.'
'You'll have to teach us instead,' Katie smiled.
'Dark ice curses for beginners,' Harry grinned, only to get punched firmly on the shoulder. 'Don't joke,' Katie admonished him. 'Impaling other students with icicles isn't funny.'
It is when it's Malfoy, Harry almost said.
He rubbed his shoulder and stuck his lower lip out dramatically instead.
'Harry,' Hermione's voice interrupted, 'tell Neville he has to teach us.'
'Why?' Harry shrugged. 'He can make his own decisions. If you want to, or think you should, then by all means teach, Nev, but don't let them force you into something you don't want.'
'Umbridge isn't going to teach us,' Ron pointed out, still surprising calm.
He'd have exploded by this point last year. Maybe he finally grew up a bit. 'Yeah, and Neville helped us already with his shield charm,' Dean added. 'I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you, or anyone else if he'd only get over his fear of speaking to people he doesn't really know.'
'I know I should teach,' Neville muttered, 'but nobody would listen to me, they'll never think that I know what I'm talking about.'
'Show them they're wrong,' Harry responded firmly. 'When they see you're better than them they'll have to swallow their pride and ask for help. It will be fun.' Hermione shot him a glare, and Katie drowned a giggle in her butterbeer next to him, spattering foam over her mouth.
'Very attractive,' Harry congratulated her, and the chaser flushed slightly.
'Everyone will be here soon,' Hermione fretted. 'You should have thought about that before leaving it to the last minute to tell Neville what you wanted him to do,' Harry told her unsympathetically.
'I assumed he'd want to help Hermione responded pointedly.
his
friends,'
'Maybe he already is helping all his friends,' he replied coolly. Neville looked uncertainly between them.
'I'll teach,' he decided, then smirked, an expression Harry wasn't used to seeing Neville wear, 'but Harry will be my assistant.' Ron and Dean looked nervous, no doubt considering the prospect of numbers falling once they realised Harry was involved. Hermione looked rather too happy about it.
'That's good,' Katie told them all cheerfully, 'because everyone's arriving now.'
Neville gulped, but straightened up and fixed a determined expression on his face.
'There are a few more than ten,' Harry pointed out to Katie, as the Hog's Head swiftly filled up to the point of inconvenience.
'I underestimated Neville's appeal,' she giggled.
'That or nobody has managed to teach themselves how to do a shield charm.' Harry decided his second reason was the more likely of the two. He was still trying to find a way of improving his own, the shining, silver barrier that Voldemort had created was much more impressive than his bright light. He was also slightly tempted to see what would happen should he cast it angry, but it would be best to wait until he was in the chamber for that, though he would be spending even less time there now than he wanted.
Umbridge had forgotten, in her glee, to give him detention, but the moment Dumbledore had been told Harry had somehow found himself scheduled to be spending at least one evening a week with Snape for the rest of the year. It meant, as likely as anything else, that he would be very well acquainted with the school cauldrons come the summer and that the headmaster could keep an eye on him.
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